Lobbyist arrested, accused of battery on Osceola School Board member
A former state representative and lobbyist is accused of battery on Osceola County School Board member Jon Arguello ahead of an event at Fat Boy’s Bar-B-Q in St. Cloud.
Mike Horner, 56, was arrested overnight on suspicion of battery on an elected official, a felony offense punishable by up to five years in prison, St. Cloud Police Department officials said Saturday.
The dispute happened at a political fundraiser for Orange-Osceola State Attorney Andrew Bain on Friday, Arguello said. The school board member said he arrived about noon, and only he, Horner and another person were in the room ahead of the event.
Arguello said a disagreement then ensued with Horner telling him he shouldn’t be there. Arguello and Horner are known to be political enemies.
Arguello said he started to film a video of himself talking about the event when Horner confronted him and tried to grab his cellphone. A 13-second video of the incident was posted on the Osceola County news website Positive Osceola County.
“Who would have ever thought an attorney general …,” Arguello said in the video.
Then a man sitting across the table whom Arguello identified as Horner jumped up and repeatedly told Arguello, “Do not video me,” pointing his finger in his face.
The camera jerked around, and Arguello said, “Do not touch me. That’s assault.”
“He reached for my phone when I was getting up,” Arguello recalled. “His hand felt like it glanced off the phone and hit me in my neck, collarbone area. It felt like he was grabbing on my collar. Then he let go and then tried to grab my phone, my wrist.”
A no-trespass warning was issued to Arguello at the property owner’s request, said Andrew Sullivan, a St. Cloud Police spokesman. Arguello confirmed he received the warning.
Horner, who was jailed Saturday in Osceola County, did not return a phone message left Friday night seeking comment about the incident. He has been released pending trial.
Florida law provides stiffer criminal penalties in battery cases if the victim is a school district official, upgrading the charge from a misdemeanor to a felony.
Elected to the school board in 2020, Arguello has clashed with Horner in the political arena.
In 2022, the Osceola County School Board voted to censure and reprimand Arguello. The board said Arguello, who denied any wrongdoing, sought a campaign contribution for his sister, who was running for another seat on the school board, from Horner, the district’s lobbyist at the time. When Horner declined, Arguello then “attacked and harassed” Horner, and bad-mouthed him to other clients using his consulting firm, the board said, citing the findings of the Gainesville law firm tapped to investigate.
Arguello is a Republican candidate for state Senate.
Horner, also a Republican, served in the Florida House from 2008-2012. Horner ended his quest for a third term in 2012 after he was named as a client of a brothel in Orange County, though he was not charged.
As a lobbyist, Horner represents Osceola County government and Sea & Shoreline, an aquatic restoration firm, according to legislative records.
